Editiones Arnamagnæanæ. Series A - 01.06.2003, Page 309
KNOWLEDGE OF JÓNS SAGA
267*
throughout the see, and that these announcements reflect the Skálholt
ordo is clearly seen from the classification of Jón helgi's dies natalis
as duplex major (like the chief apostles) and his translatio as duplex
minor. In the Hólar diocese the first was naturally celebrated as sum-
mumfestum, the second as duplex major (cf. KL VIII, 108).
Whoever in the fourteenth century, or perhaps later, chose to make
the announcement of the feast of Jón helgi’s translation “merkiligt” by
including the detail of the sweet-smelling herbs found in or on his
grave was evidently familiar with the L recension of Jóns saga.
4.2. Post-Reformation sources
In the description of the paper manuscripts of Jóns saga it was occa-
sionally possible to point to the use of some particular one among
them by a scholar in the post-Reformation period, from about 1600
until the saga recensions, S and L complete and H in excerpts, were
printed in Bps. I (1858-78); see especially pp. 100*, 105*, 196*
above. The following brief survey, which is unlikely to be complete,
covers evidence from the same period which leads to less specific
identifications:
1. Gottskálk Jónsson knew that Jón helgi was ‘eigingiptr biskup’, BL
Add. 11242, fol. 32, but this of course is no pointer to the recension of
Jóns saga he may have read.
2. Absalon Pedersön Beyer wrote Om Norgis rige in 1567. He has this
brief passage (ed. Storm, 84): ‘Vdi Holom haffuer verit vist xx bisper
foruden superintendenter. Den förste hed Jon hin helga, hand var föd
paa det 23 aar effter S: Oluff var slagen, oc leffde under kong Harald
Siurdsen.’ Storm, introduction p. 22, reasonably thought that this was
based on Jóns saga, “hvoraf et Exemplar maa antages dengang at have
hprt hjemme i Bergen”, pointing to the existence of the NRA frag-
ments discussed on pp. 54*-55* above. NRA 57 is a fragment of the S
recension of Jóns saga (though interpolated from an L text), and we
may assume that it agreed with S2 in correctly dating Jón’s birth 22
years after the fall of St Óláfr. Absalon Beyer must however have fol-